Electric lamp making apparatus



Dec. 22, 1959 w. P. scHoENoFF ETAL 2,917,869

ELECTRIC LAMP MAKING APPARATUS Filed April 29, 1957 lm/erwclsr'.WaLciemaw- P. Schoerwoef,

' PaulLVaTg-gn,

Then'vv Abbo1-rwe9- United States Patent ELECTRC LAMP MAKING APPARATUSWaldemarl. Schoenof, Mnslsego, Wis., and Paul Vargo,

Lyndhurst, hio, assignors to General Electric Com- ,pany,a corporationof New York l Application April 29 1957, SeriallNo.- 655,854

4 Claims. `(Cl. 494-2) turefinto a sealed-beam lamp, and isaneimprovement of f the'apparat-us described and claimed inUCS;Patent`2,237, 186, issued Aprill, 1941, to I. Malloy, and ULS.'Patent '2,334,123, issued November 9, 1943,to F. yC.Perkins, bothassignedto the same assignee as the instant application. A

Electric lamps of'thetype disclosedv in the'abovefmentioned Wrightpatent vcomprise a pressed `reiiector section-which supports a filamentor other light `sourceand Vhasa definite interior yoptical shape,usually parabolic, with a reflecting coating thereon applied-to redirect'the light from the ilamentin a predetermined pattern. y"Over 'thelmouthof the reflector section,ewhich-has the general form of a cup andconstitutes Aone portion of the lamp bulb, issealed .anotherpressedglass cover or'lens section-constituting the other portion ofthe/bulb and'. which `is usually provided with light refractin'gemediaor'pane'ls forA concentrating or diffusing the light -in adenitefpatvtern. The sealing together of ythe two glass sections'isfe'lfec'ted at theirperipheral edges -which are providedjfor er' IC@exterior of 'thelens section thereof which are 4*accurately "formed andlocated during manufacture with respect to f the axial center line ofthe lamp` and to the` axis ofthe lreflector section thereof. s

Anotherobject of our invention isyto provide ynew and improved apparatusfor making-an Aelectric lamp with reference surfaces or bosses such asdescribed vabove which may be incorporated on existing lampernakingequipment such as that disclosed in the above mentioned Malloy APatent2,237,186. v

Still another object of our invention is to provideapparatus for makingan electric lamp with reference surfaces or bosses of the type describedwhich may 'be operated at high speed and'with precision and reliability.

Briefly stated, inaccordance with one aspect of our invention, the ylensor cover glass sectionof an electric lamp of the abovejdescribedcharacter is preformed with "a plurality'of aiming bosses extendingupwardly from the lens at points inwardly Yof kthe sealingllange of vthelens.- A sealing machine .of the indexing carrier type, such as isconventionally employed .to seal together .the lens 'and reflectorsections of a sealed-beam typea'lamp, is provided, at'one Vof the workstations, with a heating means to soften the vglassvaiming bosses .to yaplastic Vcon- Athis/purpose, with cooperating annularsealing surfaces. i

definite relation to the axial center lineof the lampas Well 'as theaxis of Vthe reecting'surface o f the lamp. Since thereflectorsection,lthe'lens section andthe filaments are'all accurately located Y:withvrespect-to "one another duringfinanufacture, itisdesirableto'rihcorporate such reference surfaces onv the-lamp lens`during manufact-ure of the lamp so that they will necessarily beacn'curately `located with respect tofthe axial `center lline of -the lampand to the optical axis of the reflecting surdition. Itis furtherprovided with means-to engage the aiming bosses when ina heatedplasticrstate to deform them and shape the reference surfaces vsost-hatthe surfaces are accuratelylocated withk respectto Vthe axial centerline ofthe lamp and the .optical axis `ofv the rrellecting surfac vFurther objects and'advantagesof theinvention will appear from thefollowing detailed rdescription thereof and 1 from 'the Vaccompanyingdrawings wherein:

Fig. l is adiagrammaticp1an viewof a lamp` sealing mac'hine comprisingthe invention. p

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the turret ofthe sealing machinetaken on the line 2--2 of'Fig. 1..

` Fig. 3y is aperspectivevview of aflarnp made in accordance with theinvention. n lFig. v,4 is a perspective View ofaa section of Va1-lampshowing seating and 'locating padssand .part of the-machine head kinwhich vthe pads .must rest. A Referring to Fig. l, the apparatus shown.therein is similar to that describedand claimed in theabove identifledMalloy and Perkins patents, and comprises af'rotatable Avcarrier orturret lrprovided around nits :periphery with a pluralityof heads`2forsupporting and carrying glass reflector sections 3 (Fig. 2) whichare-to -bejindi'- vidually sealed to a cover glass or lens sections-4 toform the envelope or bulb ofthe lamp. The -h`eads-f2 which themselvesrotate on the turret, areadaptedtosupportthe glassreilectorsections *3in anupright position with their concave reflecting surfacesf facingupwardly.l `The turret lis rotatably mounted on a vertical ycentralshaft or column Y6 and it is intermittently indexed about the shaft 6 bysuitable indexing means (not shown-)bf lamp sections 3 and 4 yin eachhead 2k progressively toa succession of work stations A'to Q wherevariousoperalface. -Su'chreference surfaces afford aready meansr for *l.mechanically aiming Vthe lamp while mounted in place on the vehicle.

To this end, the apparatus of the Vinstant linvention is provided withmeans vto locate such aiming reference surfaces or bosses on the Vlamplens during thecourse' of manufacture lof the lamp therebyeliminatingthenecessity 'for special finishing roperations afterfassemblyfof the lamp parts. v

-It is -an object-of our inventiony to provide a no'vel ap.-

v When the assembled lamp is installed in `a vehicle-a 'seriesv .paratusfor making ian electric lamp of the above men'- tio'ncdtype lhavingreference -surface's ior bosses on the tions not `concerned with they'instantinvention .formed/on thesaid lassembled lamp sections.

As shown Yin Fig. 2 .each head 2fcomprises a'l ringshaped main lampholder 7 having 'a lamp seating rim Sat `are, i perits upper endprovided with a plurality of flat seating Ysurs faces 9 on which seatingsurfaces 510 of lamp 'orienting bosses l of thereflector section `3 areadapted to -re'st to support and orient the reflector ysectionwinrthehead.

ofseatingsurfaces 19a onbosses llaon the :lamp'se'c'tion f3 serves ,asreference surfaces toA properly seat'ltheflamp with respect -.to thevehicle, while bosses.lfserveztorient. the'lamp about its own axis.While these surfacesrltla may be used to orient and seat the lampsection 3 on the seating rim 8, it is preferable to use the seatingsurfaces of bosses 11 to permit more clearance between the lamp section3 and the seating rim 8, thereby facilitating they assembling operationsperformed at prior Work statio/ns.4 It is possible to use surfaces y1t)rather than surfaces 10a for seating the lamp as surfaces 10 areaccurately formed parallel to surfaces 1011.

The holder 7 is mounted on an upper bracket 12 supported by standards orposts 13 extending upwardly from Ya lower bracket 14 having a dependingsleeve 1S. The Asleeve 15 extends through and is rotatively mounted in abearing 16 on the turret 1, a ball bearing 17 being interposed betweenthe underside of the bracket 14 and the upper end of the turret bearing16 to thereby support, and permit free and easy rotation of the head 2on the turret. Thelheads 2 are rotated, at each station around themachine except the loading and unloading stations lA' and Q, and theboss surface forming station P, by means of a pulley 18 fastened to thelower end of the sleeve/15 and engaged by a moving belt 19. The head 2is restrained from rotation or movement at stations A, 'P and Q by theengagement of a pin 2t), which is secured vto pulley r18, with a track21.

Extending through and vertically movable in the sleeve 15 but rotativelyinterlocked therewith so as to rotate as a unit with said sleeve, is ahollow spindle or inner sleeve 22. At its upper end, the spindle 22 isprovided twith a secondary support or holder 23 for the reflectorsection 3, the said secondary holder having openings 24 'which receivethe customary metal filament terminal thimbles or ferrules 25 on thereflector section. Engage- Vment of the thimbles 25 with the openings 24positively prevents relative rotation between the holder 23 and thereflector section 3. The llower end of the spindle 22 is provided with ashoe 27 which, during rotation of the turret 1 and consequent movementof the respective heads 2 in a circular path around the machine, rideson the upper surface of a cam track 28 extending vertically around themachine and supported from a stationary part of the machine. The shoe 27is provided with an aperture 29 vextending therethrough from itsundersurface and commumcating with the hollow interior of the spindle 22and linner sleeve 26. When the head 2 is positioned-at differentstations around the machine, the aperture 29` in the shoe 27 aligns withdifferent ports (not shown) in vthe cam track 28 at such stations,different ones of said `ports being connected to a source of inert orreducing gas'for lamp ushing purposes, to a source of vacuum, or to asource of inert or reducing gas under pressure, vdependmg upon theparticular operation which is to take `place atreach station.

As shown in Fig. 3, the lens reector section 3 is provided with asealing ange 30 around the periphery thereof which mates with acorresponding sealing flange 31 formed as part of the lens section 4.Proper mating of the parts is assured by cooperating recesses andprojections on the flanges (not shown) which means that the lens section4 will be properly positioned with respect to l the lamp filaments. Inaddition, the lens section is provided with a plurality of upstandingreference surfaces or bosses 32 which are molded integrally with theglass lens section at the time of its manufacture and which are locatedat spaced intervals around the flange in predetermined position withrespect to the bosses 11 when the lens section and reflector section areassembled together.v Three of such reference surfaces or bosses willprovide a sucient number to give a proper reference plane for themechanical aiming device previously mentioned. Until such time as thelens section 4 is united or fused to the retiector section 3 to form thecomplete lamp bulbV assembly, it is not possible to predetermine theexact lengths or proper orientation of the ends of the bosses 32 so thatthey may be used vwith the aiming 4 device. This step in the manufactureof the lamp will be described later.

At the first or loading station A of the machine, a lamp reflectorsection 3 and a lens glass section 4 are assembled together and placedon the secondary holder` 23 of the head 2 so as to rotate with the head.At this station the holder 23 is in an elevated position with respect tothe ring-shaped main holder 7 because of the engagement of shoe 27 atthe lower end of the spindle 22 with an elevated portion of the camtrack 28. This means that the thimblesrZS are seated in openings 24 toorient the lamp assembly on the holders 23; since at this position pin2t) engages track 21 the result is that the lens structure and aimingbosses 32 are properly oriented for all subsequent operations as theassembly is indexed around the turret. Turret 1 then indexes the head 2with the assembled reector and cover glass ,sections 3 and 4 thereonprogressively throughstations B through O where the flanges 30 and 31 ofthe glass sections 3 and 4 are heated, rolled and sealed essentially asdescribed in the above identified Perkins Patent 2,334,- 123.

In accordance with the instant invention, and in order to x the exactlengths and proper orientation of the ends of the bosses 32 so that theymay be used for cooperation with the aiming device, the turret isprovided at station P with means to heat the bosses to -a plastic stateand then deform or displace them to provide the proper referencesurfaces for engagement with the de vice. To this end, the apparatus isprovided with a burner structure 33 shown at the top of Fig. 2. Heatinggas is supplied through a burner inlet 34 and passes through a manifold3S forming part of the burner structure 33, there to be directed at theupper portions of the aiming bosses 32 by a plurality of nozzles 36. Theburner structure 33 slides vertically upon spaced pins 37, beingrestrained in its lower position by the engagement of pin head 38 with asurface 39 of the burner structure. The burners 36 may be adjustedvertically to proper position to direct the gas ame againstthe bosses 32by adjustment of a plurality of set screws 40. During operation the setscrews rest on the glass lens section 4 while the aiming bosses 32 arebeing heated.

Suitable displacement means 41 is also provided at station P fordetermining the exact lengths of the bosses V32 and for properlyorienting their upper surfaces 42 ,relative to the reector section 3 sothat the bosses will cooperate properly with the aiming device. As shownin.Fig 2, the said displacement means 41 comprises a supporting frame 43overlying the main holder 7 and the lamp envelope at station P and isprovided with three depending dies 44 having flat under surfaces 45disposed approximately in a horizontal plane and adapted to engage theinitially rounded tops of the aiming bosses 32, as shown by the dottedline 46. The supporting frame `43 is carried by a support arm 47overhanging the periphery of'the turret 1 and fastened to the upper endof a .vertically extended operating rod 48. The operating rod 48 ismounted for vertical reciprocating movement in a stationary support or,bearing 49.

.Rod.48.is vertically reciprocated in timed relation yto the indexingmovements of the turret 1, e.g., operating from the main cam shaft ofthe machine. A cam 50 whichis operatedfrom the main cam shaft, impartsessentially vertical motion to a follower roller 51 which, in turn,rocks lever 52 about its stationary pivot 53. A pin 54 at the lower endof rod 48 rides in a slot 55 formed at'the endof lever 52 so that as thelever rides about its pivot, vertical movement is imparted to rod 48.The reciprocating vertical movement of operating rod 48 imparts periodicreciprocal vertical movement to the displacement means 41 in such amanner that the displacement means 41 and the burner structure 33suspended therefrom are raised during'indexing of the turret 1 rand arelowered to an operative position lwhen the findexiagfof thepeachi-nuergis:complete` zBu-rner l,structure 33 follows`upwardrvertieal movement, of frameuit'because pins 37 are mounted inthe frame and the pin ends 38 engage surface -39 to `lift-ftheburnervstructure out of engagement withthe lens vrsectionupon indexing,of,the.turret. A group of stop pins, ,5671s located on the supportframe 43 outwardly Yofandfspaced more yorV less r`.equally around andconcentric .Withthe annular stop ,'tdies 44 thereon so as to justclear-=the outerfperiphery lof.theseatirrg rim '8 on the'lampholdergring 71when the displacement means 41 is verticallyr,alignedtherewith ,an/d located lat its lowered operativelposition..A's shown, .t'he'stop pins 56 are vertically adjustable in the supportlframe`j43 so that they can ybe adjusted to locate 'the under surface 45of the dies 44 in the desired predetermined relation, eg. in parallelrelation to the seating surfaces 9 of the holder ring 7 when thedisplacement means 41 is at its lowered operative position with the stoppins 56 in engagement with an annular flange 57 on the holder ring 7.

The lowering of the 4displacement means 41 into an operative position,after the upper portions 46 of the aiming bosses 32 have been heated toplastic states by the burner 33, brings the under surfaces 45 of thedies 44 into contact with the aiming bosses 32 thereby pressing anddeforming the upper portion of the aiming bosses 32 to the positionrepresented by the upper surface 42. The exact vertical alignment of thedies in relation to the main lamp holder 7 is accomplished by theadjustment of the stop pins 56 so that the upper surface 42 of theaiming bosses 32 is held in precise and accurate relation to the seatingsurfaces 1G on the under side of the lamp bulb. This means that thereference surfaces or outer ends of the bosses 32 will be accuratelylocated with respect to the lamp filaments, the reector and the axialcenter line of the lamp.

In operation, the cam 50 is so constructed as to khave the displacementmeans 41 and the burner 33 in a raised position during indexing of theturret 1. After the head 2 has moved into positionat station P theoperating rod 48 moves downwardly a suflicient distance to permit theset screws 40 on the burner structure 33 to contact the lens section 4of the lamp, the burner 33 thereby having nozzles 36 properly aligned toadequately heatl the upper portion of the aiming bosses 32. Uponcontinued'downward movement of operating rod, 48, the burner'33 vremains stationary due to the disengagement of the pin heads 38 withsurface 39.of the burner 33. This continued downward movement of theoperating'rod 48 then causes the dies 44 to engage the heated bosses 32to accurately form and locate the upper surfaces v42 ofthe aiming bosses32 as described above.

To permit the engagement of all the stop pins 56 with the ange 57 on themain holder ring 7 when the displacement means 41 is lowered to tsoperative position, thereby insuring the proper plane positioning of theundersurfaces 45 of the dies 44 in exact predetermined relation to, eg.parallel with the reflector section seating surfaces 9, the displacementmeans v41 is supported on the support arm 47 by a suitable connection 58which allows a limited 4amount of rocking movement of the control means41 and preferably, in addition, a limited vamount of lateral shiftingmovement as well. To lock the operating rod 48 against rotation withinthe bearingg49 so as to prevent swinging movement of the support arm 47about the bearingv and thereby maintain hanger post 59rof'thedisplacement. means 41 in true vertical alignmentY with -the holderring7 of each head 2 when positioned at station P, the operatingrod 48 isprovided withia cross.- pin 60 which snuggly itsrand slides up and downwithin a vertical slot 61 in the bearing 49.`Y` To prevent rotation frof6 -teationswill foccurf :totthoseskilled 1in-.t thefart andmmurnaber of`eequivalents Qmay sfberfsubstituted. We, therefore,swish;toihaveittunderstood thatl iwel intendinthe @appended claims-tolcover.alLsuchemodications lasy fall zwithin-Lthe ztruespirit tandiscopefof.y our invention. y

What :we .fclaim.:as,fnew and desire :to securez'by ,Letters --Patent oftheUnitedFStatesis: Y

l1. An apparatus for `locating .lamp aiming reference surfaces onybossesl upstanding .from yaplamp zenvelope, ra g lder for,supportinggtheglamp envelope, said..:holder y.beingprovidedfwith a stopflange, `a -supportingframe g-rnovable ;toward.,and aaway lfrom .theholder, a t .burner Tstructure r carried byA said' .supporting frame, Isaid burner Jsrlut'itlre :being provided I.with heatingnozzles i and.with means for engaging thelmp envelope as the supporting frame ismoved toward the holder to locate such heating nozzles in position todirect a heating ame against the lamp bosses, die means carried by saidsupporting frame for engaging the heated bosses to deform them as theframe moves toward the holder, and stop means carried by said supportingframe for engaging said stop ange to limit movement of said frame towardsaid holder.

2. An' apparatus for locating lamp-aiming reference surfaces on bossesopstanding from a lamp envelope, a holder for supporting the lampenvelope, said holder being provided with a stop ange, a supportingframe movable towardvand away from the holder, a burner structure, meansfor supporting said burner structure on said supporting frame formovement with respect to said frame, said burner structure beingprovided with heating nozzles and with means for engaging the lampenvelope as the supporting lframe is moved toward the holder `to limitmovement of said burner structure to bring said nozzles into position todirect a heating llame against the lamp y bosses, die means carried bysaid supporting frame for engaging the heatedr bosses to deform themupon further movement of the frame toward the holder, and stop meanscarried by, said supporting frame for engaging said stop flange to limitmovement of said frame toward said holder. Y

3.,An apparatus for locating lamp-aiming reference surfaces on bossesupstanding from a lamp envelope, a holder for supporting the lampenvelope, a supporting frame movable toward andfaway from the holder, aburner structurecarried byv said supporting frame, said burner structurebeing provided with heating nozzles andV with means for engaging thelamp envelope as the supporting framel is moved toward the holder tolocate said Yheating nozzles in position to directa heating ame againstthe lamp bosse'sydie means carried by said supporting frame for engagingthe heated bosses to deform them as the frame moves toward the holder,and cooperating means on said holder and frame for limiting movement ofsaid frame toward said holder.l

4. Apparatus for forming lamp-aiming surfaces on a cover glass sectionof a lamp envelope, said lamp envelope including a reflector section anda cover glass section having bosses integral therewith for the formationof said lamp-aiming surfaces,said apparatus comprising, in combination,a ring-shaped holder for the reflector and cover glass sections disposedwith its axis vertical and having a seating rim at its upper endprovided with a cave reflecting surface facing upwardly, said holdermeans also having stop flange means extending horizontally outof post 59in the support'arm 47,- a key 62 is secured to i vward from the holderring below and outwardly beyond thev seating rim thereon, a burnerstructurefor heating the bosses to a plastic state and adapted to movevertically downward to engage the cover glass section of the lampenvelope and including flame directing nozzles in heating relation tothe bosses, glass-forming dies adapted to be moved verticallydownwardover the bosses ,y while in the heated plastic state so as to deform theI upper edge of the bosses into lamp-aiming surfaces which lie inapredetermined transverse plane relative to the aXisrof the envelope,ldisplacement means mounting said Ydie members for limited verticalmovement, connecting means secured to said displacement means'forvertically moving thedisplacementmeans and associated die member, stoppins extending downwardly from-said displaceholder ring` on downwardmovementv 'of the stop member to thereby accurately locate thedies in apredetermined '.'positionrelativen) said holder ring.with theY diemembers accurately disposed in a 'plane parallel' to and spaced apredetermined distance upwardly from the plane of the reflector seatingsurface on said holder ring.

Y References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,011,523 Swan Dec. 12, 1911 1,165,884 i La France Dec. 28, 19152,163,071 Stringer June 20, 1939 2,237,186 r Malloy Apr. 1, 19412,245,782 Holloway June 17, 1941 2,334,123 Perkins Nov. 9, 19432,514,878 Kuperus July 11, 1950 2,644,100 Braunsdori June 30, 19532,655,766

Haden Oct. 2o, 1953

